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U.S. Department of Energy
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Effect of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) on food-chain transfer of PCBs in Saginaw Bay

Conference ·
OSTI ID:203629
; ; ;  [1]
  1. NOAA, Ann Arbor, MI (United States). Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab.
The recent invasion of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) has significantly impacted the water quality of the Great Lakes. Relatively little is known about the influence of zebra mussels on contaminant cycling, and transfer to higher trophic organisms. Due to its high filtering rate and ability to rapidly establish large populations, Dreissena could potentially alter the flow of energy through the food web. In addition, this species has demonstrated a large capacity for accumulating lipophilic organic contaminants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Thus, zebra mussels could contribute to enhanced contaminant biomagnification by serving as an additional food-chain link either through direct transfer (ingestion by fish or ducks), and/or indirectly by funneling contaminants out of the pelagic zone down to benthic invertebrates. In order to determine if zebra mussels are enhancing biomagnification of PCBs in a Saginaw Bay food web, two years of field collections of various components (water, sediment, algae, zooplankton, zebra mussel, zebra mussel feces, gammarid amphipods, fish) were analyzed for their PCB congener content. Trophic levels will be characterized using stable isotope ratios of {sup 15}N/{sup 14}N, whereas carbon sources will be identified using {sup 13}C/{sup 13}C ratios.
OSTI ID:
203629
Report Number(s):
CONF-9511137--; ISBN 1-880611-03-1
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English